Among the Ducklings
by Marsh Brooks
Summary: Isabel Romero is engaged to Richard Seyfert, but falls in love with Phil Pierce. Who will she choose? Richard is hiding a terrible secret, and he is rushing to marry Isabel before she finds out. There is more... Read Among the Ducklings to find out.


**Chapter** **Seven**

Isabel's therapy sessions consisted mostly of two hours of daily grueling exercises, which her therapists call "locomotor training". The training consisted of Isabel's body being suspended in a harness over a treadmill, while the therapists helped her move her legs. Now that she was back in her wheelchair this afternoon, she felt exhausted. She was only by the lake for few minutes when Phil came. She was so absorbed by the view of the ducklings playing in the water, that she didn't hear him come.

"Beautiful sight, isn't it?" Phil said as he sat on the bench.

"Yes, it is," Isabel replied. She was shaking inside. Why did she have to feel that way every time she was around him? She asked herself. She wasn't a teenager anymore.

"After you left yesterday, I asked your aunt when you were going to be here. I'm sorry about that," Phil said. Both of them were talking while still watching the ducks in the water.

"Are you?" Isabel asked, turning her head to look at Phil. Sensing Isabel's stare, Phil turned. These eyes can melt a glacier, Phil said to himself before replying. "I didn't have any choice. I wanted to see you again. You seemed upset when you left yesterday." As Phil spoke, Isabel kept reminding herself that she was engaged to be married and not to let the feelings she had for Phil interfere with her relationship with Richard.

"Why did you want to see me again?" Isabel asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Since I met you, it's like a spell. I can't get you out of my mind and feel like a happy kid at the prospect of seeing you again," Phil said, surprising even himself for being so open with her about his feelings.

"Why are you doing this?"

"What am I doing?" Phil asked, incredulous at the question.

"You've only known me for just a couple of weeks and now you are telling me about your feelings for me. How do you think I should respond?" Isabel asked.

"I know it's very soon. I don't go around falling for women I just met. But that's what happened to me with you and I was hoping that you would agree to see me again," Phil said. When he had met Stacy, he could not help but to admire Stacy's body molding jeans, her shapely legs. With Isabel, it wasn't about her legs, it wasn't even about Isabel's pretty face. Beauty fades. It was about everything about her.

It took a few seconds for Isabel to respond, which to Phil seemed an eternity. When Isabel responded, it was as if Phil had been punched in the stomach.

"I am sorry to disappoint you. I am engaged to be married to a wonderful man. You and I have known each other only for a short period, while I've been with Richard for years. I hope you get over your feelings for me, but I can't see you again." Isabel tried to sound as icy as possible and was hoping that Phil would not be able to read through her. She wanted to see Phil, and dreamed about being in Phil's arms. However, that would not be fair to Richard. When she met Richard, there was no denying her attraction to him. However, the way she felt about Phil was different. It was more than a simple physical attraction. She wanted to be with Phil, wanted to share breakfast, lunch and dinner with him. But although she wanted to share her life with Phil, she knew that would not be fair to Richard. She never broke her promises.

"But you have been engaged for three years. That tells me that neither of you is sure. Me, I would have married you on the spot," Phil insisted.

"Please don't read anything into my relationship with Richard. You don't even know him."

"Isabel, all I am asking is for a chance to show you that we are made for each other. I am sure that you have feelings for me too." Phil implored.

"It's very arrogant of you to tell me how I feel," Isabel quipped. "I don't know what made you think that. I only have feelings for Richard," Isabel lied. Keep your promises to Richard. Fight your feelings for Phil.

"I was hoping that you would give me a chance," Phil finally said.

"Well, you were wrong. I don't think we should talk to each other again."

"Well it looks like I've taken too much of your time." a resigned Phil said. He felt that he was starring in a bad romance movie. In a romance movie, there was always one person that was left out. The character that the star of the movie didn't love or left for his or her real love. Phil felt he was such a character and wanted get away as soon as possible. Phil got up and Isabel said "Good Bye Phil."

As Phil was leaving, tears flowed down Isabel's cheeks. She was devastated. She remembered the story told at church of a big flood and the drowning person declining all help, including a boat, in the belief that she would be saved by God. In the story, the person died only to find out in the afterlife that the help that she declined came from God. Had Isabel just thrown out her only chance of happiness? Had she refused the lifeline of love? She would never know, because Phil had already left the building.

It was late in the evening when Phil finally reached home, having stopped at the nearby bar for some shots of whiskey. Whoever said that alcohol lessened someone's pain was lying, he said to himself. He was still crushed when he left the bar. Isabel was right. It was arrogant of him to think he had a chance at happiness with her. He wondered what he would do if he came across her and Richard at the Center. Would Richard laugh at him? He had no doubt that Isabel would tell him. Then in a flash, he knew what he needed to do. He made a decision that he thought would be best for all three of them.

After Phil's departure, Isabel went to see her aunt. As she entered Marcia's office, Marcia, who was reading some kind of medical book, looked up with alarm and said, "You look a mess Isabel. Have you been crying?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about your niece," Isabel simply said.

"You mean, your sister," Marcia said. She knew that something must have happened between Isabel and Rebecca for Isabel to refer her sister like this.

"If you say so," Isabel said.

"So what's wrong with Rebecca? Is she OK?" Marcia asked. Isabel could read the concern on her aunt's face.

"She's pregnant."

For one moment, Marcia looked as if she was going to pass out at the news. "How did this happen?" Marcia finally asked.

"Stupidity. I guess."

"Is Mark the father?"

"Yes," Isabel replied.

"Does he know?"

"Yes, he wants Rebecca to have an abortion."

"That creep," Marcia said. "Who else knows about it?"

"No one else. Apparently, neither one wants to get married because they think they are too young."

"They should have thought about that before engaging in sexual escapades," Marcia said.

"That's what I said," Isabel agreed, "What do you think I should do? I talked to Rebecca about how stupid she was and I want her to take responsibility for her own actions."

"It's understandable. What does Rebecca want? Did she say she wanted to have an abortion?"

"No. She wants to keep the baby."

"Good. How many months?" Marcia asked.

"Rebecca said three. I also placed a call to Mark's parents, I'm not sure where that will go," Isabel said. "Mark is not even working and Rebecca's part-time job barely covers gas for her car."

"We'll help for sure. But they're going to have to get real jobs. After all, they're going to be parents."

"I told Rebecca that too," Isabel said.

Her aunt then paused pensively for one moment, and then said, "I'll tell you what. I am free this Saturday. Why don't we see if we can invite Mark's parents to lunch? Then we can talk to them about this."

"Thank you, Tia Marcia. I would like you to be there. I am so upset right now about the whole thing."

"Don't worry. She'll be OK." Marcia added.

"I know," Isabel replied. She felt guilty for leaving Marcia with the impression that her problems were solely related to Rebecca. Then again, how could she tell her aunt that she had fallen for a man she barely knew? Her aunt didn't need to know, she said to herself. After what happened between Phil and her today, Isabel doubted that Phil would ever talk to her again, let alone talk to Marcia about her.

Stacy's flight from Los Angeles to Miami was noisy. Being in first class doesn't shield you from crying babies, annoying passengers, and incompetent flight attendants who dared to call themselves stewardesses. It was these six hours of hell that finally convinced Stacy that she needed to buy her own private plane. No one recognized her. Good thing. She did not model or act anymore because, to her, that was not where the money was. Who would want to be an actress when you could be the executive movie producer who hires the actress? Who would want to be an employee when you could be the boss? In California, financial success had come quickly to Stacy. Only two years after her move from Miami, she had moved from acting and investing with the movie-director-ex-boyfriend in low budget television miniseries, to investing now in big screen movies. Although she abhorred violence, she carved a niche for herself in gore and splatter B movies. To her, that was where the money was. Less investment, less risk, dedicated fans and great rewards. All in all, Stacy had been right in her choices. The horror films that she had produced had had great success, both in theaters and in video sales. Her love life had suffered greatly, but it was a choice she had to make.

As Stacy's limousine navigated the Miami traffic jam, she picked up the phone to call Phil's secretary. Although Stacy had asked Phil's secretary not to tell Phil that she was coming to Miami, Stacy knew that she would tell Phil. As Myra picked up the phone, Stacy could not help but smile at how her plan to get Phil back was developing perfectly. Stacy was well aware of her own beauty and the effect that she had on men and even women. What people failed to notice, however, was her intelligence. When she first moved to California, a lot of men prejudged her as another brainless pretty model. Their mistake had cost them dearly, including her last husband that she married right before he signed the biggest movie contract of his career. Divorce came quickly afterward. Gone was also half of the money he made from the movie. Now with Phil, Stacy's genius was again at work. Getting Phil back was to her like choosing which movie to produce. There had to be a good script. She knew she had the right script for Phil. She had written it.

"Boss?" Although it was not unusual for Phil's secretary to call Phil at home, it was unusual for her to call him after work, on Skype, a popular video and voice communication service that Phil sometimes used when he was in front of his computer.

"Are you OK, Myra?" Phil asked his secretary, as her face blanketed his computer screen.

"Stacy just called me."

"At home?"

"Yes."

"What did she want?"

"She said she was going to be in town tomorrow and wanted to know if I could work for her part-time, in the evenings, as her personal secretary."

"Can you?"

"Yes. She said she would pay for the babysitter for the kids."

"I hope she is paying you enough."

"She is paying me four times more than what I make at work."

"Wow. Great."

"Are you OK with it, Boss?"

"As long as it doesn't interfere with your work at the office."

"Thank you boss. I really can use the extra money."

"You won't leave with her to California, will you?"

"No, boss," Myra replied. Phil's attempted joke did not register.

After they hung up, Phil wondered what Stacy was up to. The last thing Phil needed was for Stacy to show up in Miami. His love life was a mess and he didn't want any more problems.

When Isabel reached home that evening, Richard was already there with Rebecca watching television.

"You look tired Bella," Richard said.

"I am," Isabel replied.

Rebecca's eyes were fixated on a news anchor delivering "Breaking News."

"When does this stop being Breaking News? Every half hour they repeat the same thing," Rebecca said before looking at Isabel. "The lawyer called and said you needed to call her today if you could. She will be working late at the office tonight."

Richard and Isabel then called the attorney, who told them the details of the offer, including the six-figure amount that Isabel was going to receive.

"Besides the money they are giving you for pain and suffering, the insurance company also agreed to put money in escrow to pay for all of your medical costs and treatment," the attorney told Isabel. Isabel was ready to accept the insurance company's offer, when the attorney proposed to make a counter-offer for additional money for pain and suffering. Although she acquiesced to her attorney's suggestion, Isabel was ready to put this accident behind her.

Isabel could not sleep that night. In the past few weeks, her life had taken several turns that she never could have imagined. First, it was the accident, then Phil, and now Rebecca's pregnancy. By the time morning had come, she was tired, wide awake and still in bed. It was almost 10:30 in the morning when the phone rang. She didn't pick up. A few minutes later, Rebecca knocked on her bedroom door.

"Come in," Isabel said.

Rebecca didn't come in. She simply said "It's Tia Marcia, she wants to talk to you."

After a short struggle to reach the lamp on the night table, Isabel picked up the phone, which was next to a brown alarm clock.

"Good morning, Tia Marcia."

"Did anything happen between you and Phil yesterday?" Marcia asked without returning her greeting.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Isabel asked, not knowing what her aunt knew or how to respond without divulging any information regarding her conversation with Phil.

"His doctor just called to tell me that Phil called to tell him that he wanted to continue his therapy at another center."

"But your place is recognized as one of the best in South Florida," Isabel said.

"I know. His doctor tried to convince him to stay but he would have none of it."

"Did he tell the doctor why?" Isabel asked, fearing what the answer would be.

"No. He was sitting on the bench next to you, yesterday. Did he say anything about that?" Marcia asked.

"No," Isabel responded. Isabel was technically correct. Phil didn't tell her that he wanted to continue his therapy somewhere else. But deep inside, Isabel knew why. How could she tell her aunt that Phil was doing this because of her?

"Well, I tried to call him but he was not in his office. I will try to call him again to find out why. To be frank, I liked him and all of the nurses here kept telling me how nice he was to them. He even gave a job to the daughter of one of our gardeners," Marcia said.

"It might have been because of me," Isabel admitted. She was not sure whether Phil would tell her aunt when she talked to him, but she was not going to lie to her aunt or let her aunt find out directly from Phil.

"What do you mean? I was right, wasn't I? Something happened between the two of you yesterday?"

"Yes," Isabel admitted.

"So what was it?"

"He told me how much he liked me and I told him that I didn't want to talk to him or see him again," Isabel said.

"Why on earth would you say something like that? Couldn't you be more diplomatic? Besides, I was hoping he could help with your accident case," Marcia said.

"My case is almost settled," Isabel said, "Besides, what could I tell him? I am engaged to be married to Richard."

"I see," Marcia said, "So when is the wedding Isabel?"

"What? My wedding date doesn't have anything to do with it. It's just that I am engaged."

"I know you're engaged. You've been saying that. Tell me, do you love Richard?" Marcia asked

"Why do you ask?" Isabel answered.

"It would have been simple enough to say 'I love him', but you didn't say that, why?"

"Well, I am not sure, OK?" Isabel's voice was rising as if she had been caught in a trap and wanted this conversation to end.

"You're not sure because of Phil?" Marcia insisted.

"No. Well yes, but I would never do anything to hurt Richard."

"Isabel, do you really know Richard?"

"Of course, why do you ask?" Isabel asked.

"Why have you never gone to Orlando with him?" Marcia asked.

"He goes to Orlando for his construction projects and he doesn't have much time when he's there," Isabel responded.

Marcia was burning inside because she wanted to tell Isabel that Richard's trips to Orlando were to spend time with another woman. But she could not. Marcia, herself found out about Richard's cheating by accident. Even though it had been over a year since she saw Richard with the blond woman in the back of the Brazilian restaurant, the image of the woman kissing Richard's earlobe was still vivid in her mind.

Had she not been meeting some physician friends for dinner that night, Marcia would have never known about Richard's indiscretions. After that night at the restaurant, Marcia then hired a private investigator who confirmed to her that Richard and the woman had, on several occasions, spent the night together in an expensive house in Orlando. To this day, Marcia still asked herself why Richard was with Isabel. What did he want? Why was he living a double life? What was he up to? She tried to investigate further but had been unable to find out why.

She wouldn't be able to explain to Isabel why she had hired a private investigator to follow her fiancé. She knew that Isabel would not be happy about it. She hoped that Isabel would find out about Richard's indiscretions on her own.

"Isabel, I hope you know what you're doing. You're with Richard, yet, you have feelings for Phil," Marcia said.

"It's not like that. You know that. I have known Richard for years. I don't know much about Phil. I only met him a couple of weeks ago."

"How do you expect to know about Phil if you refuse to talk to him?" Marcia asked.

"Richard has been good to me. I will get over Phil and I am sure he will get over me also," Isabel concluded.

"I hope you're right. If not, you will be making the biggest mistake of your life," Marcia said. "I've got to go now. I will talk to you when you get here."

After speaking to her aunt, Isabel realized the enormity of her mistake. She might never see Phil again. She loved Phil. But was it really a mistake? She wasn't the type to betray a person's trust. She would never betray Richard. She would marry Richard.

**Chapter Eight**

When Marcia asked Isabel if something had happened to cause Phil to decide on a different center, she did not expect that to be the case. Now that Marcia knew, she would have to tread carefully when she called Phil. She had been embarrassed by the whole situation. She was the one who convinced Phil's doctor to send him to the Center to continue his therapy for the injured ankle. Now that Phil had gone to his doctor to say he wanted to make a change, it would make the doctor think twice before referring another client to her.

As she was dialing Phil's number, she said to herself her goal was simple, to get Phil to change his mind. Beneath it all, however, she also hoped that it would be an opportunity for Phil and Isabel to get together again. Maybe the second time could be the charm.

"Mr. Pierce?" this is Marcia.

"Dr. Gomez?" Phil said, surprised that she would call him herself at home.

"No, Marcia."

"OK, Phil not Mr. Pierce," Phil said.

"Got it. How are you?"

"OK, I guess," Phil replied.

"I spoke to Dr. Klein who told me of your decision to leave the Center, and I wanted to know if I or any of my staff had done something that led you to make this decision."

"All of you have been great," Phil replied.

"I am glad to know that," Marcia said. Phil had not expected to receive this phone call and did not know where this was going. He could not tell her it was because of her niece. How could he?

"I just spoke to my niece Isabel and she seemed to blame herself, thinking she might have been the reason for your decision."

"huhh", Phil was thinking. Things were taking a turn he didn't expect. What's wrong with this family? He said to himself. Everyone seemed to know about everyone's business.

"I was calling to ask you to reconsider," Marcia continued, "We want you back at the Center. You were making good progress. Besides, although she didn't come out and say it, I know that Isabel would want to see you again."

"My decision may have seemed childish. The fact is I just didn't want Isabel to feel uncomfortable knowing I was around, after she told me that she didn't want to ever talk to or see me again." Phil said.

"Well, you don't know much about women, do you?" Marcia said, "We don't always say what we mean. Sometimes, you cannot just give up. If you love someone, sometimes you have to fight for her. "

"She told me that she loved Richard," Phil said.

"As I said, you have a lot to learn about women," Marcia said. Then she told him a joke that she once heard, about a man who went to see God, after God had agreed to answer one question for him.

The man then asked God "Tell me about the meaning of life."

"This is a very complicated question," God responded, "Ask me another one."

"Tell me how to understand women."

"Well," God said, "The meaning of life is..."

The story caused Phil to laugh and Marcia said, "What did you expect a woman who is engaged to say? That she didn't love her fiancé? All I am saying is that if you are making this decision to leave because of what happened between you and Isabel, you might not have gotten the complete picture of the whole situation. If you love her, you should not give up so easily."

"OK, let me think about it." Phil said, "I thought I was doing what was best for Isabel, what she would want me to do."

"I hope you decide to stay with us. Even you do not, I hope you give yourself a second chance with Isabel," Marcia said before she hung up.

Phil didn't know what Marcia had against Richard. But a jolt of happiness ran through his body. Could it be that Marcia was right? Could it be that Isabel shared his feelings? If so, he would know soon, because it was time to go watch the ducklings play again.

Stacy always thought that it was easy to love someone like her. She was very beautiful and could be nice and charming when she wanted to. In Phil's case, it would take a little work because she had hurt him. Now that she was in Miami, she was not going to leave any stones unturned.

Before, she could move to the next step in her plan, she needed to have Phil's full attention. Michelle had told her that she overheard Jeremy talk about a woman who was paralyzed that Phil liked, who was receiving treatment at the rehabilitation center that Phil was attending. She needed now to have a talk with her. But first, she needed to know who she was. It was like going for a movie audition. Always take your rival actors seriously. You don't always win a part in a movie by simply repeating lines in front of a casting director. Sometimes you have to bend the rules. She didn't get to where she was by being nice. She didn't play nice in business and she didn't intend to play nice in love either. The way Stacy saw it, if two women wanted the same man, one would have to lose him. Stacy was not going to lose to an invalid.

That afternoon, when Isabel rolled her wheelchair in front of the lake after her therapy, she was surprised to see Phil sitting on the end of the bench. She knew that her aunt was good at handling people and she wondered what Marcia might have told Phil to make Phil change his mind.

Phil turned when she pulled her wheelchair next to him, on his left, and said "the ducklings are having more fun today than usual."

Isabel turned to look at the ducklings playing in the lake. But in reality, she was not seeing them. Her mind was racing, her palms sweating, and her heart palpitating. She was so happy to see him. She wondered whether she would ever be able to resist him. She tried it before and had to endure a long and sleeplessness and painful night.

"Phil, I'm sorry for what I said to you yesterday," she said. Phil could see the pain in her face and wished he could hold her. How do you hold someone in a wheelchair? He didn't know how. Even if he managed to, would she push him away?

"It wasn't you, Isabel. It was me. I realized that telling you how I felt about you when you don't know much about me might have been overwhelming to you and I'm sorry," Phil said.

"You are the last person that I would want to be mean to. I really felt very bad about what happened. I should have told you that I was engaged, and when I heard this morning that you might never come back, I wanted to take back everything I said to you," Isabel said.

Then Phil grabbed Isabel's hands and held them in his palm, Isabel fidgeted. She felt her fingers burning from his touch. "Isabel, I love you and I know that you're engaged to be married. But I want the person you marry to be me. I will not rest until I know I've earned your love."

"The thing is that I love you, too." Isabel said, "But it's complicated. I am engaged and we don't even know anything about each other."

"Well let's start," said a happy Phil. They didn't kiss, but Isabel felt good to be next to him, to feel his love for her. She wondered what it would feel like to be kissed by him. She knew that she was still engaged. She was feeling guilty about the situation. But she was happy that her hands were in his hands, the hands of the man she loved.

Isabel and Phil spent the next few hours talking about Isabel's family and how Isabel had to become a mother to Rebecca after the passing of Isabel's own mother. They talked about Isabel's college years and how she started her computer company. Isabel didn't talk to Phil about Rebecca's pregnancy. She felt that she would be violating Rebecca's privacy. Isabel, on the other hand, also learned that Phil searched for his real parents, but never found them, and also how he created a company that provided trial expertise to law firms. They felt so much at ease that neither one wanted to leave.

It was very late when both decided to depart from the Center. Phil had never felt such happiness before, and Isabel was feeling drowsy from so much love and so much fear of the future. Richard was spending a couple days in Orlando. What was she going to tell Richard when he got back?

Unbeknownst to Phil and Isabel, someone had spent the past hour watching them from a car in a parking lot across the lake. As Phil and Isabel left, Stacy started the car. Stacy had seen enough. It was now time for her to act. A smile spread across Stacy's face. She only acted when it mattered. Like an academy award winner in a blockbuster movie, she was going to rise to the occasion.

When Isabel reached home that evening, all she wanted was to take a quick shower and go to bed. She had had a wonderful afternoon with Phil. But overall it was a bad day. She could not simply walk away and hurt Richard who had treated her well, but yet she didn't want to lose Phil. By the time she fell asleep, she was tired of thinking, tired of all of the emotions flooding her heart.

The next morning, she was still distraught over what took place between her and Phil. Some people viewed cheating as sleeping with someone who is not your partner or spouse. To her, loving someone else was also cheating. She felt like she had cheated on Richard with Phil.

When Phil woke up the next day, he was still very ecstatic about the day before. He never knew that sitting and holding hands could feel so good. He was still in deep thought about Isabel, when the phone rang. It was Jeremy.

"Hi old buddy."

"Hi Jeremy, how are you?"

"Fine. Guess what?"

"What?" Phil asked.

"I'm on my way to the airport."

"Good. Are they kicking you out of the country?" Phil joked.

"Don't be funny," Jeremy responded, "I am flying to Miami today."

"Cool," Phil said. "What time do you think you'll be here?"

"My flight leaves at 11:00 in the morning and I should be in Miami in about an hour and a half. After that, I have a meeting at 3:00 pm. So, I should be at your place by 6:00 pm."

"Great. It'd be fun to see you."

"I'm not sure. How is your Greek tragedy going?"

"What Greek tragedy?"

"You, falling for a woman who is in a wheelchair and engaged to another man."

"This isn't a Greek tragedy. When you meet Isabel, you will love her."

"Has she told you that she was going to dump her fiancé for you?" Jeremy asked.

"Well no, but she loves me."

"You just confirmed my point. You love her and she loves you, right?" Jeremy said.

"Right," Phil agreed. Once Jeremy meets Isabel, he will change his mind about her, Phil thought to himself.

"Tell me, Phil, do you know what Romeo & Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, Cleopatra and Mark Antony, Orpheus and Eurydice, and Napoleon and Josephine have in common?" Jeremy asked.

"They are famous love stories. I didn't know that you read them," Phil said.

"I don't," Jeremy said.

"So, what do they have in common, Mr. love expert?" Phil asked, in a mocking manner.

"They are considered great love stories but they never end well for the two people who are said to be in love."

"What does that have to do with us?" Phil asked. But deep inside he knew what Jeremy was trying to say.

"Wake up and smell the coffee, Phil," Jeremy impatiently said, "You both claim to be in love with each other, but she didn't promise you that she would break up her engagement. How do you know that she won't go ahead and marry her fiancé anyway?"

"Jeremy, you have to understand that it's hard for her," Phil said, trying to convince Jeremy. "Isabel and her fiancé had been together for several years before I came into the picture."

"I hope you're right. In any event, I can't wait to meet the woman who has made you lose all of your senses," Jeremy said before hanging up.

Jeremy's call had Phil worried. Now he was not so sure anymore about himself or what Isabel would do. Would Isabel sacrifice their love and marry Richard because of her promise to Richard? Would Jeremy prove to be right? Would they become ill-fated lovers like in the tragedies?

That afternoon, when Phil reached the Center, he was hoping that the sight of Isabel would wipe away all of the doubt he had about the two of them since his conversation with Jeremy. He sat on the bench and waited for two long hours, but Isabel never came. The ducklings were not there that day. It was as if Isabel's absence had silenced them. Phil never believed in fate. But now he wondered whether he should. As he was about to leave, Marcia then came to join him.

"Waiting for Isabel?" she asked.

"Yes, but I'm worried. I thought she had a therapy session today," Phil asked.

"She did but she didn't show up," Marcia simply said.

"Is she OK? Do you know where she is?"

"I don't know. I called but she wasn't home," Marcia answered.

"You're not worried?" Phil asked, with his own worried look.

"It has been a tough week on Isabel. Besides her accident and everything going on at home, now she must make a decision about you and Richard," Marcia simply said.

"But you said she wasn't at home," Phil said, not understanding why Marcia didn't seem worried.

"You know," Marcia began, "the day Isabel's mother passed away, Isabel walked out of the hospital and for several hours everyone was looking for her and couldn't find her. Do you know where she was?"

"Me? No, I don't," Phil replied, realizing that Marcia was waiting for him to answer.

"Well she had gone to church to pray. You see, since Isabel was young, when she was in pain or hurt, she would go to her room and pray. She is a very special woman. I hope that you know that anyone that she loves should consider himself lucky," Marcia said. She was looking at him as if giving him a warning to never hurt Isabel. How could he ever hurt Isabel? All he wanted was for them to be happy and to spend the rest of their lives together.

"Do you think she went to church to pray because of us?" Phil asked, with an incredulous look on his face.

"I don't know. You should ask her when you see her," Marcia said before she walked away, leaving Phil staring at the silent lake.

Stacy hated when things didn't go as planned. This afternoon was one of these afternoons. She had gone to the Center and walked to the back, by the lake. Incredibly, no one asked her anything. She had learned from one of the landscapers that the woman who liked to sit with Phil by the lake was the niece of the director of the Center, and her name was Isabel. As she walked by the empty bench, she looked at the still lake, wondering if something ominous was lurking beneath. Stacy never liked Florida lakes because you never knew when an alligator would show up.

Stacy remembered one day visiting a park near Tallahassee, Florida, called Wakulla Springs State Park. The park had a large lake that was full of alligators. She didn't have a problem with tourists wasting their money on boat rides to see alligators. What she didn't understand was that a lot of the kids were swimming in the water, not understanding they might be an alligator's next snack. Apparently, they were doing this because statistics showed that there had only been one accident involving a fatality at the park, and that was a very long time ago. Stacy called this type of irrational behavior, the NOT ME theory. It was the same thing with shark attacks. They rarely happened and when they happened, experts always tried to explain them as rare accidents, making people feel more comfortable that it would never happen to them. Each person going into the water thinks, it's not going to happen to me. NOT ME. Unfortunately, it usually happens to one of them. Stacy didn't like sharks or alligators, and didn't believe in the NOT ME theory.

In fact, the only time Stacy had ever come close to an alligator was having a fried alligator tail on her plate. She wondered whether that man-made lake had any alligators in it. She didn't see the ducks that were playing the day before. They must have been eaten, she assumed. She didn't like ducks either.

As she walked back to her car, she said to herself that Isabel must be one lucky woman by choosing not to show up the day Stacy chose to talk to her. Sooner or later, Isabel's luck would run out. Sooner or later, Isabel would meet Stacy.

As Isabel was driving home from church, her phone rang. The caller ID showed the call was coming from the Center.

"Hi, Tia Marcia," she said through the Bluetooth-enabled speaker. Soon after her accident, she had bought a used minivan which was retrofitted with car hand controls to bypass the pedals. Without blue-tooth technology, it would have been nearly impossible for Isabel to use the phone and drive at the same time.

"Isabel, Phil was here this afternoon and was worried about you."

"I was at church."

"I guessed that, when the nurse told me that you had canceled today's therapy session."

"Have you decided what you are going to do?" Marcia asked.

"About what?"

"About you and Richard."

"I don't know. I did make a promise that I would marry Richard."

"Oh yes, where is he? I have not seen him lately. Is he in Orlando?"

"Yes. He is going to be there for at least another week or so, because of construction projects."

"I bet."

"What?"

"Nothing," Marcia said, "Phil seemed to really love you."

"I love him too, but I can't just walk away from Richard."

"Let me know how I can help you. I like Phil myself," Marcia said

"I can tell," Isabel said, "Somehow, I always sensed you had something against Richard. But I don't know why."

"Why don't you ask him what he does when he goes to Orlando?"

"I told you what he does," Isabel said, not understanding her aunt's fixation with Orlando. As far as she knew, her aunt had never even gone to Orlando.

"I guess you're right," Marcia said, giving up. "By the way, before I go, I did speak with Mark's parents today."

"What did they say?"

"I didn't tell them about the pregnancy but they knew something was up when I told them that we wanted to talk to them about Mark and Rebecca."

"Did they say anything?" Isabel asked.

"We are meeting them this Saturday for lunch at the Habana Cafe on Bird Road."

"Why the cafe? Do they like Cuban food?" Isabel asked.

"We'll find out, won't we? Besides, they're not paying so they have nothing to complain about," Marcia said, "And, Isabel?"

"Yes."

"Don't miss any more of your therapy sessions."

"Yes, Doc," Isabel laughed.

Isabel reached home as the phone in the kitchen was ringing. She picked it up and her heart jumped when she heard Phil on the other line.

"Isabel?"

"Hi Phil, how did your exercises go today?"

"Boring and painful. Are you OK?"

"I'm feeling better."

"When I didn't see you today, I was really worried."

"I needed to go to church and pray. Tell me, Phil, Are you Catholic?"

"Me? Does it matter?" Phil asked. He was afraid to say the wrong thing. He didn't know where this was going.

"Not really. But I just wanted to know. Do you go to church?" Isabel then asked.

Phil didn't know what to say. "You mean on Sundays?" Phil asked. Phil was buying time. He needed to think. Was it a test? Was there any meaning behind the question? He understood that women were complicated. Was there a double meaning behind most of their questions?

"No I just wanted to know if you go to church," Isabel simply said. She could feel that Phil was scrambling to give her the correct answer and said reassuringly. "Whatever the answer is, it will not make me think less of you Phil."

Phil, a little relieved, said "I go sometimes."

"When was the last time you were at church?" Isabel asked.

"At my friend Jeremy's wedding. I have also gone to the typical masses, weddings, funerals, birthdays, etc," Phil said.

"There is no birthday mass," Isabel said with a laugh.

"I mean baptism," Phil immediately corrected himself. He was failing the church test.

Changing the subject, Isabel said. "I missed you today too, but I needed to go and pray. It's been a very difficult time for me and I just wanted some divine guidance, if you will."

"I know. I would like to help, but I don't know what to do."

"No thanks," Isabel said with another laugh, "You have done too much already." Isabel was in a good mood. She still didn't know what she was going to do. She knew that Richard would be coming back in a week. He had called but she had yet to return his call, afraid of what she might say. If only a week wasn't so short. She said to herself.

"Isabel, my friend Jeremy is coming to town this evening and I wanted to know if you have any time in the next day or so. I told him a lot about you and he would like to meet you," Phil said.

"I can do better. Why don't the two of you come over tomorrow evening to have dinner with my sister and me? She makes a mean pasta."

"How can pasta be mean?" Phil asked.

"Have you ever seen a jalapeno spaghetti sauce?" Isabel teased.

"Nope. That sounds scary."

"Well, prepare yourself to be very afraid tomorrow," Isabel said with a laugh.

For the next hour, Isabel and Phil talked about everything and nothing, laughing and teasing each other. It was as if time stood still, as if Isabel was not engaged. As she hung up the phone, Isabel noticed the engagement ring around her finger. She regretted having accepted Richard's marriage proposal. She knew it was childish to feel this way. She didn't know at that time that she wasn't in love with Richard. All she knew now was that she was an engaged woman, and the love that she and Phil felt for each other could not make the ring disappear.


End file.
